From emerging regulation to deal mechanics, we write about the questions founders and investors actually ask — practical analysis you can put to work.
An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is a crypto-asset fundraising mechanism in which a project issues newly created tokens to investors in exchange for cryptocurrency or fiat capital, typically prior to or alongside the launch of the underlying protocol.
A regulatory sandbox is a framework set up by regulators that allows startups and other innovators to conduct live experiments in a controlled environment under a regulator’s supervision.
A Layer 2 (L2) is a scaling solution built on top of a base blockchain (“Layer 1” or L1 — most commonly Ethereum) that processes transactions off the main chain while inheriting L1’s security guarantees.
Security tokens are digital assets that represent ownership or an interest in a real-world asset, subject to regulatory governance, combining blockchain’s innovation with traditional financial market’s regulatory framework.
A Leading Investor, often seen in venture capital deals, is typically the investor who orchestrates the financing round, setting the terms and leading the due diligence. This role is pivotal in attracting other investors and driving the investment’s success.
Preemptive Right is a shareholder’s right that allows them to maintain their proportional ownership in a company by purchasing additional shares before they are offered to the public or other investors. This right is crucial for preventing dilution of an existing shareholder’s stake in the company.
Reverse vesting is a mechanism where company founders or employees earn their shares over time, similar to traditional vesting.
Bad Leaver provisions are clauses in corporate agreements that determine the consequences for employees who leave a company under undesirable circumstances, impacting their vested stock options and financial entitlements.
A Put Option is a financial derivative that provides the holder the right, but not the obligation, to sell a specific amount of an asset at a predetermined price within a certain period.
A Call Option is a financial contract that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy a specific amount of an asset at a predetermined price within a specified time frame.
